At the moment I have:

- PRACTICE!!! Most of the artists on this forum didn't get to the stage they are at now without practising.

- If you feel you have no new ideas for drawings, go back and redraw any old pictures you did before - you'll be pleasantly surprised by the improvement, so giving you a feel-good inspiration.
Alternatively, take a break, watch some TV or play a game - you could find yourself inspired by those.

- When inking, work at a steady pace. DO NOT RUSH IT - remember, it's that lineart you'll be using for CGing, so make sure you go back over your picture and fill any gaps (ie bits where lines appear disconnected)

- Before you do ink, try and relax your hands in some way - a shaky hand will leave the lineart looking messy.

- If there's something you like in a game, try hooking the console up to a VCR. Let me cite an example from my experience. To me, the 'Sparda' sword out of 'Devil May Cry' is such a badass looking weapon that I wanted to draw it. I had no sources, apart from the game, so I recorded parts where you could see the blade properly. I then paused the video and drew it. Just a tip, if there is a weapon/character you would like to draw.

If I think of any more, I'll put them up here.

[ 02-03-2003: Message edited by: Angelo ]

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practice drawing from life and from photos as much as possible - draw strangers on the bus (they'll never know!). All practice is good practice, and ignore so-called purists who tell you "copying is wrong": you can learn a lot from it, and it isn't wrong as long as you don't pass it off as original.

Getting a general feel of shape and form is better than total accuracy, so don't sweat the small things, you'll just make yourself unhappy with your work (and make your work worse by endless rubbing-out!)

Take a sketchpad wherever you go, and draw everything you see, and as much as possible - draw people walking down the street even if they don't stop. Draw the train station while you're waiting for the train. When you're in the pub, draw your friends and the barstaff. Try drawing with your off-hand (left handed if you're right handed and vice versa), or drawing without looking at the page, or even drawing blindfolded only through touch!

If you like to go out drinking with your friends, try drawing after you've had a few. It relaxes your hands and gives you more confidence, and you might be surprised at the results.

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-Stay away from erasures,
They are like crack, if you start to use them you cant quit.
In the end you spend more time erasing lines, than drawing the image(finish the drawing and erase afterwards, things you dont like).

-If you draw from something (model photo or anything else around you),
Spend atleast the same amount of time looking at the object, that you spend looking at your drawing(and I dont mean looking......drawing; I mean looking,drawing,looking,drawing,looking,drawing)

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Wer nicht vom Meister lernt, lernt nie etwas.

* * * * * *
draw! draw! draw! bored at work? take out a piece of paper and doodle. tired of listening to your teacher? draw that fav anime character! when you draw everyday, it makes a big difference!

paper dolls!!!! having trouble with clothes? there are realistic paper dolls at barnes and nobles featuring every decade in america to traditional clothes from other cultures - my japanese paper dolls are gorgeous!

walter foster how to draw and paint books - i dont care if you CG! you should be able to apply basic painting skills to your CG medium

tired of angular looking people? i found a use for blid/contour drawing!! contour drawings help you draw more fluid, natural, and youre drawings will look more alive than something that is angular *unless thats your style!*

NATURE BOOKS FOR PLANTS AND ANIMALS! if you draw anything that has nature, get nature books!! or look at the nature around you *if any* alot of people who draw forests, seem to draw the same old forest -o- use the same colors - brown and green. if you get some nature books youll notice theres more to forests than brown and green!

* * * *

Dont be afraid to hide stuff. Many, MANY people on deviant draw their charas in flared raver pants cos they cant draw legs. Use baggy jumpers, is her neck givin you trouble, stick a mosher moptop on her and use the hair to cover her neck. Cant draw hands, stick em in pockets.

In short, if youve tried to draw a part of a drawin a million times and keep erasin it, cover the awkward bits with convenient clothing, hair.

If you truly wanna be great, this isnt for you and should be used sparingly, only a useful tactic if theres a bit on a really good drawin you cant seem to get right. Overusing it will atrophy your artyness.

3 pencils (H, HB and B)
- NB 2 pencils should be the minimium
- H for drafting, HB for drawing final lines

2 pens (thin and felt tip)
- for inking, the thin pen is good for going over main lines. For patches of black, use a felt tip, to cover a greater area.

Putty eraser
- trés useful, mes amis/amies. Mould them into a fine point and get rid of small areas. They also leave no debris.

Ruler
- good for backgrounds and perspective building

Sharpener
- I can't think of a more effective way to keep a pencil sharp, can you?

Games magazines, Animé/manga magazines - in fact, any magazine/book!
- sourcework is good for you. Trust me, it is.

also, the sharpener issue with Angelo - I don't find I need one very frequently! only if I'm drawing something very tiny! I almost never use one at all. I almost never use a rubber these days either - and I think that's a good thing. Putty rubbers are excellent, tho...

Well I kinda agree with both of you pixie and Neo.
Practice is important, focus on things that are a problem.
But if it is a important deathline, money giving task. Do every trick and cheat you know to get the job done as best as possible.

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Wer nicht vom Meister lernt, lernt nie etwas.

(crowd stares blankly. Silence and tumbleweeds. Angelo walks off stage, resolute never to perform any more stand up comedy)

BTW, could someone post up a pic of what a mechanical pencil looks like? I'm sure they sound familiar...

actually, drawing a lot in charcoal at the moment (high contrasty stuffs) and not doing much cartooning at all. just a helluva lot of life drawing. MUCH!

and as for pencils, I usually sharpen it once at the beginning of a drawing, and then finish as quickly as possible. I just don't seem to need a sharpener or an eraser much these days. And I tend towards HB (I know, I know, not the best choice!) - but you can get them in big packs at WHSmiths cheaply, and you don't hafta set 'em wiv fixative like soft sketching pencils! hoorah! ;)